Safety towel-cabinet.



'Z SHEETS-SHEET l.

ATTO R FY INVENTOR Patented Dec. 9, 1913.

SULGMQN.

SAFETY TOWEL CABINET APPLICATION FILED 1320.31, 1012v WITNESSES citizen of iilie United Eateries, residing at St.

Joseph, in the county of iuchenen and.

State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Safety Towel-Cabinet, which the following is a specification.

The invention relates i0 improveioenis in mwel cabinets.

The ob -ii oi she present invention is to improve me ooosmiction of iovxel cabinets, and to pi'ovicie a simple and comparatively inexpei 'sive towel cabinet designed for use in lavaoories of hotels and various other places where it is desired to supply individual towels, and; adopted to hold 2! relatively large number of clean towels and. maintain the some in e sanitary condition, and equipped with means for exposing only a portion of a towel, and of enabling the towels io be readily removed one time without 'mussing Oi disarranging elie eieon towels contained Within the cabinet, Whereby an absolutely fresh and sanitary in liviclual ioivel is assured.

A further object of the invention is to provide a towei cobinet of this character, adopted to keep clean and soiled iowele separate, and capable of admitting free use of the towels without permitting 'v'zhe same :0 be removed from the cabineh whereby ice" and abuse of towels are preveoiee'l.

ivith these and other; objects in view ihe invention. consists in the -tsonstructioi and. novel combination of porie hereinafter ioliy described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed oui in the claims hereto appended; being unclerstoooi that various changes in i-he form, proporiioii, size and Iminor details of construction, Within fihevscope of the claims, may be i'esorted to Without departing from the spirit or seerificing any of the advantages of the invention.

in the clmwingszFigm'e l is perspective View of a towel cabinet, coiistiucted in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is o ceniral vertical longitudinal sectional view. Fig. 3 is e transverse sectional View on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2. Fig. is o horizontal sectional view 011 the line 4.- iof Fig. Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view, illustrating another form of the invention in which the towel holding and supportin platform is vertically movable at :i

m we?! a HIS-$017131, 8551 peoificetion of letters Patent.

ipplieaiion filed fiecember 31, 293.2.

vei'eeely elineii vei'tieel 'E'EY TQWEL-CALPIIQ' l" v, n the accompanyin drawings in which is ililifillisiigd the pieferieel embodiment the invention, 1 dz-lsigiieies 2i cabinet or, see in to be ooostrueted any suitable metezial iwt' 0833i 'isiiig speoei "ext? col eifies f2, col Wall 3 and :2. Teriica'i fTOlliZ W iprefembiv curved. or i'oimcletl at 5 adjacent to ,ihe eifie walls to present :i, bowed oi swell frone enol pi'ovicieii with o lllflgefi floor-ii, which access to the interior 0 terven'ing space i not or easing, w ll on in bile form eliowii iii (lrzmiiige is equipped with foirominous boixtom 8, consiiucteci of Woven wire or other ioi'tingiedge 9, oleorly illustrated in "s. 2 our} 8 of izhe drawings, The circu- 121. 011 of air under ihe cabinet 02' casing and vthrough the bottom thereof will evaporate the moisture resulting from clump towels & V injuring the cabinet or the some insoniivory. Any other portion of the cobinet in y be made foremiooiis $10 as to pro vide the amount of ventilation iieeessaij to maintain the cabinet in e airy or sanitary QOlldiblOn. I i-etl, the feet of the eelbimay be equippec' with casters to enable itfco be convenieMm-y moved.

The top of the cabinet or casing is composed of front and. rear poetions-or sections 10 and 11, separated by an intervening transverse slot 12 and the sicles 52 we on video in their upper ortions with trimsslots 13, extending Clownv-rorflly from the ends of the- 31 never-Se "loiv lQ-io provide a for o, from Wall 14 of o. vei'ticallg i movable automatically adjustable hoocl 15. The front 901"- iion o section 10 iprovided with a role {:ively large opei l6 ade 'iieol to enable "the towels 17, a use, to drop into the cabinet, which I I :1 receptacle 'foi" soilecl towels, es Ciiiilify illustremi in Fig. 2 of the drawings. *irei emblv equipped. :il, opening 18 with b guard '18 hinged i;o"i;l1e"ii'oot well i above suitable material, suitably secured open the door 6 and extending rearwardly from the front wall to within a short distance from the rear wall of the opening 16,and yieldably supported in a holizontal position by spring hinges 19. 'Any other suitable means, however, may be employed for maintaining the guard normally in a horizontal position, and the said guard conceals the soiled towels from view and at the same time prevents free access to the same through the top. Any suitable means may also be employed for limiting the downward or opening movement of the guard, should it be desired to positively prevent persons from reaching the soiled towels through the opening 16.

The rear section 11 of the top of the cabinet constitutes a towel. receiving and supporting platform, and the towels are arranged in a vertical stack in a folded condition upon a raised portion 20 of oblong form, as clearly shown in Fig. 4: of the drawings. The raised portion prevents the towels from sagging and maintains them in a convenient position to be readily removed one at a time througha slot 21 in the hood 15. Although the cabinet is described as a,

towel cabinet, yet'it will be readily understood that napkins or similar articles may, of course, be. substituted. for ordinary towels, and the term towel is to be construed broad enough to contemplate such articles. Each towel when ironed is folded with one end 252 projecting beyond the folds,-

and such projecting end. is e nipped with an eye 28 reinforced with meta or other suitable means and adapted to have aguide rod 24 pass through it to prevent the towel from being removed from the cabinetby the individual user. Any kind of towel may, of

course, be employed and if desired the towels may be done up in separate 811% velops or packages to insure a sanitary condition of the same.

The hood, which exteriorly telescopes the rear portion of the cabinet creasing andv iecends by gravity to maintain itself upon the top of the pile or stack. Instead of em 'ploying a vertically movable hood, 'a stationary hood 27 and a vertically movable towel carrying or supporting platform 28 maybe used, illustrated in Fig. 5 of the drawlhe platform 28, which has a raised The slot or opening through which the towels are drawn may be arranged at any other desired point on the hood, and the removable top thereof is designed to be so cured in the grooves or ways by any suit able fastening means to prevent'it from being drawn outwardly by persons using the towels. In the accompanying drawings set screws 33 are shown for this purpose. These screws 33, which are arranged at the ends of the hood, pierce the end walls at the grooves or ways 26 and engage the end edges of the removable top 25.

- The guide rod 24 is composed of front and rear vertical portions 34 and 35 and a top connecting portion 36. The rear vertical portion 35, which passes through the alined eyes of the stack or pile of towels, extends downwardly through an opening 37 in the towel. carrying platform or support,

and through an alined opening 38 in a hori- Zontal shelf or partition 39, spaced from the platform or support 11 and forming a guide for the inner or rear vertical portion of the rod and also provuhng' an upper c0mpartment adapted to hold a quantity of clean 1 towels. The lower end 40 of the inner or rear vertical portion 35 is threaded and re ceives a disk or nut 41 having a. threaded opening to engage the threads of a guide rod and forming a head to prevent the guide rod from being pulled out of the alined guiding openings of the platform or support 11 and the-partition or shelf 39. The top connecting portion 36 extends forwardly I from the upper'end of the rear vert cal portion and passes through the slot 6 at the center thereof, and the front vertical 'portion extends downwardly through the top opening 16 into the soiled towel receiving portion of the casing or cabinet. It passes 1 5 between the rear edge of the guard 18 and the rear wall of the opening 16 and is of a length to reach to within a few inches of. the bottom of the casing or cabinet when the guide rod is at the limit of its down- 12; i

ward movement. The top connecting portion of the guide rod is adapted to rest upon the upper edge of the front wall of the partition, and the removable top 25 of the hood is provided at the front with a central open- 1% ing' 42, located directly above the top c0n- ,necting portion of the guide rod and adapted to expose the uppermost towel of the staclt or pile to enable the same to be readily grasped and drawn through the front is ci'ol, The uppermost :o a el the slack a; drawn forwardly or outwardly through the slot 26, the top connecaing portion of the guide rod permitting such movement, and after the towel has been used, it is allowed to "Fail. and the front verlzical portion of the, guide rod will guide the towel through the opening 16 into the front towel receiving portim of the cabinet. The antoniaiic adjustment of the guide rod maintains the top connecting portion at the said slot 16 in position to permit i'he towel to be readily drawn outward, so that the guide rod will noi. interfere with ihe free removal of the to vols from the hood. The eye of the towel is arranged at the bottom portion of the folded rowel, the folds being located above rho plane of the said bottom portion, and this with the raised central portion of the platfoini or support positions the bowels so that the top one may be easily grasped and rcmoved wilhout disturbing or mussing the rest of the stack or pile.

I The towcls after use are allowed to fall through the opening in, and they accunnn late at. the bottom of the front portion of the cabinet or caning; illustraled in Fig. 1 of ihe drawings, and in practice the last or". the towels of the slack will remain on the lower portion of the guide rod so that even ii a person should reach through the opening 16 and draw out a soiled towel, his hand will come in contact with one of the top ones connccied wifih tho rod, so that there is no liability of tho towels becoming separated from the cabinet. The hood, which adjii'sts iisolf automatically to the diminishing size of the. stack or pile of towels, is movable independently of the guide-"rod, the opening poi-ranting the upper portion of the guide rod to project above the hood should the towels accumulate at the bottom of the cabizacr or 'ilfllilg and therein; interfere with iimvnward movement of the guide rod. The

Front door, which affords ready access to the 'ntcrior of the cabinc'l, Will enable the soiled towels to be quickly removod and when the door or head is (let chad from the lower end of the inner vertical portion of the guide rod, the lall'er may be Withdrawn from the cabinet. The removal. of the top or lid of the hood allows the laii'er to drop down into the slo'l'si of the casing and telescope the rear portion of tho 5 211116, thereay alibi-(ling free acccssfto the platform and enabling the same to be easily reloaded. The guide rod may then b0 easily replaced and returned to its normal position. the hood raised and the lid or cover "thereof;roplaccd.

The cabinet may also he used without the l'ml.

haiis claimed is 1. A cabinet of the class described-includ in; a flat platform adapted to receive a stack of towels and being of greater area ehan the si ciii and provided with a raioed portion. located at an intermediate point beewecn opposiie of the towels and adapted to elevate an intermediate portion of the latter to enable the top towel of rho stack to be easily grasped, and a hood having an opening exposing thenppermost towel of the stack. i

A cabinet 0? the class described including a relatively fixed *platforn adapted to support a stack of towels, a hood exteriorly telescoping the cabinet and slidable upwardly and downwardly thereon with respect to the platform and removable there from to expose the said platform, said hook being provided with a. slot ar ringed to permit the removal of the top towcl of the stack, and a receptacle arranged to receive the soiled towels removed from lhe plalform.

3. A cabinet of the class described provided at tho top with an opening and havinga platform located in rear of and adapted to support a st; cl; of towels, and a, vertically movable hood guided on the casing and forming a cover for and adaplcd to rest upon and be supported by the stack oi towels, said hood having a slot arranged to permit the lop towel of the slack to be re moved from the hood.

4. A cabinet of the (lam described provided with a front towel receiving portion and having arear guiding portion and provided at the top chereoi with a towel rocolving platform, and a hood open at the bottom and fitted over and slidable vertically on the said rear guiding portion of the cabinet and covering the platform or support,

said hood bein adapted to rest upon a .ilack or pile of towels and provided with a slot or opening arranged to permit the towels to be removed succ' Sll'iilf, from rho stack or pile.

5. A cabinec of the class described provided at the top a; point intermediate of its from and, hack with a iranwerse slot. and having, vcrtical slots locaied at opposite sides. of ihe cabinet and exremling dowa-' wardlv from the Transverse slot, a vertically movable hood fitting over and embracing; the rear portion of the cabinet and. slidable vertically in the said slots, said hood fornr ing a cover for and adapied to rest upon a stack of towels, and. provided with an opening arranged to permit the towels to l)( rcnioved successively froin the slack or pile.

G. A cabinet of the class described including a soiled iowel reccpl'acle lccaieil at the front of the cabinct, a 'ilatiorni arranged at the back of the cabinet and adaplcd to support a slack of toweln. a hood telescoping the rear portion of iho cabinet. and fornr ing a cover for and adapted in rest upon The slack oi towels, m ans for guiding: the towels from the platform lo the Hoilud towel receptacle, and a hinged yieldably supported guard normally arranged with its freeedge adjacent to the said guiding means to prevent soiled towels from being drawn on of the said receptacle.

7. A. cabinet of the class described provided at the front with an opening to permit. soiled towels to be dropped into it and having a towel receiving platform arranged in rear of the said opening and adapted to hold a stack of towels, a hood telescoping the rear portion of the casing and forming a cover for and adapted to rest upon the stack of towels and provided with an open ing arranged to expose the top towel and permit the towels to be successively removed from the stack, and means for guiding the towels from the said platform to the soiled towel receiving opening, said guiding means being vertically movable to adjust itself to the movements of the hood. and the decreasing size of a stack of towels. 8. A cabinet of the class described having, a front opening to permit soiled towels to drop into it and provided in rear ol the a d opening with a platform or support adaptrd to receive a stack of towels, a vertically mov able automatically adjustable hood arranged to rest'upon and cover the stack of towels and having a slot or openin to vpermit the towels to be removed successively from the stack, and means for guiding the towels from the stack to the opening oi the cabinet to prevent the towels from being removed from the same, said guiding means being automatically adjustable with the hood 9. A cabinet of the class described having a front opening to permit soiled towels to drop into it and provided in rear of the said opening with a platform or support adapted to receive a stack of towels, a vertically movable automatically adjustable hood arranged to rest upon and cover the stack of towels and having a slot or opening to per: mit the towels to be removed successively from the stack, a guide rod extending from the platform or support and passing throuuh the slot or opening oi the hood and also through the opening of the platform and forming a guide or the towels.

10. A cabinet of the class described having a front opening to permit soiled towels to drop into it and provided in rear of the said opening with a platform or support adapted to receive a stack of towels, a vertically movable automatimily adjustable hood arranged to rest upon and cover the stack of towels and having a slot or opening to permit the towels to be removed successively from the stack, a guide rod consisting of an inner vertical portion arran redto pass through the towels and slidable through the platform or support topermit the guide rod to adjust itself automatically with the hood a i' 'ront or outer portion exmenses tending through the opening of the cabinet,

arranged to rest upon and cover the stack oi towels and provided the front with a slot and having an opening extending rearwardly from the said slot, and a 'uide rod composed of an, inner portion adapted to pass through the towels and extending through the platform or support, an outer portion arranged to guide the towels-into the openingof the cabinet, and a top portion connecting the inner and outer pOltlUQS and passing through theslot of the hood and arranged beneath the opening thereof.

12. A. cabinet of the class described provided with an opening to permit soiled towels to drop into it and having a plat form or suppo' in rear of the said opening adapted to receive a stack of towels, a hood covering; the stack of towels and having a removable top spaced from. the front wall of the hood to provide a slot for the removal of the towels, said. top having an opening extending rearwardly from the slot to eX- pose the IlPPQlIDOSli towel of the stack, and a guide rod extending from the hood to the opening of the cabinet.

13. A cabinet of the class described having an opening to permit soiled towels to drop into it and provided in rear of the opening with a platform or support adapted to hold a stack of towels, an automatically adjustable hood arranged to cover and be supported by the stack of towels and having a slot for the successive removal of the same, a guide rod extending from the platform or support through the said slot to the opening otthe cabinet and including an inner vertical portion passing through the platform, and a combined shelf and guide arranged in spaced relation with the platform and having an opening receiving the inner portion of the guide rod.

14;. A cabinet of the class described having an opening to permit soiled towels to drop into it and provided in rear of the opening with a platform or support adapted to hold a stack of towels, an automatically adjustable hood arrangedto cover and be supported by the stack of towels and having 'a slot for the successive removal of the same, a guide rod extending from the platform or support through the said slot to the opening of the cabinet and including an inner vertical portion passing through the the platform or support and receiving the inner portion of the guide rod, and detachable means mounted on the lower end of the inner portion of the guide rod and arranged. to engage the said fixed guiding means to prevent the removal of the said guide rod.

15. A cabinet of the class described including a platform located at the rear portion of the cabinet and adapted to support a stack of towels. a soiled towel receptacle arranged at the front portion of the cabinet in advance of the platform, and a hood telescoping the rear portion of the cabinet and slidable vertically thereon and removable therefrom to expose the said platform, said hood resting upon and forming a cover for the stack of towels and having an opening to expose the uppermost towel for re moval.

16. A device of the class described including a support having a relatively fixed platform adapted to support a stack of towels, a hood slidable upwardly and downwardly with respect to the platform and removable to expose the same and adapted to rest upon and form a gravity acting cover for the permit the removal of the top towel otme stack.

17. A device of the class described includ* ing a support having a relatively fixed plat form adapted to support a stack of towels a hood slidable upwardly and downwardly with respect to the platform and removable to expose the same and adapted to rest upon and form a gravity acting cover for the said stack of towels, said hood being provided with a slot arranged to expose and permit the removal of the top towel of the stack and a vertically movable guide rod slidable through the platform to adjust itself automatically with the hood and {oral ing a guide for the towels.

,In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own 1 have hereto atlixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

HARRY SOLOlvlON.

"Witnesses J OHN A. ltlcGnn, T. P. Dom. 

